Dan's Grand Adventures: Vienna...

Vienna is the home of greats such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss and Gustav Klimt.

For the past few summers it has also been the home of ME.

"The Kiss"- famous painting by Klimt

St. Stephen's Cathedral

St. Charles's Church

This summer I worked for GYLC, once again. This year we had almost an entirely new staff. Its always great to bring new people to a city I feel so comfortable in. I get to show them the sights I already know and they bring a new excitement for things I haven't seen yet.

Every year we have about a week of training before the scholars come. One of the days during that week is our day off. This year for our day off we had planned to rent bikes and bike around town. As it was almost 100 degrees that day, the bike plan quickly turned into the "let's explore the metro rail system" plan.

We started at Belvedere Palace/Museum where we saw the Klimt collection. Gustav Klimt was an Austrian painter whose featured this summer in Vienna's museums. The most famous of his works is "The Kiss" (shown above.)

After checking out the museum we decided to head over to the Naschmarkt for lunch. The Naschmarkt is like a farmer's market meets flea market meets outdoor shopping plaza all in one.

We had some lunch and then headed over to Schonbrunn Palace, the summer palace of Habsburg family. The gardens, which feature over 30 statues and countless flowers, require 150 gardeners that attend a special school (on the property) to maintain its beauty year round. You really could get lost here, not only in the many paths and gardens but also in the giant maze next to the zoo on the palace grounds.

Schonbrunn is an amazing place that is, or should be, on everyone's MUST SEE list in Vienna.

After the visit to the palace, it was time for dinner. When in Vienna, you must eat Schnitzel and the best place for it is Figlmuller, known for their giant schnitzels and Viennese cuisine.

Next stop, Hotel Sacher for the famous Sachertorte. A deep rich chocolate cake best served with Schlagsahne (whipped cream).

The last stop of the day was the Volksgarten Clubdiscothek. We have frequented here many times in the past and are never dissapointed. This year we were lucky enough to catch the end of the Euro Cup semi final game. It is always exciting to watch soccer games in Europe! After the game we met up with some of the other people on staff and ended up having a really great time, chilling by the pool at the bar (yes there is a pool at the bar) and dancing through the night.

One of my MOST favorite parts of training week is when we go to Grumpoldskirchen. A quaint Austrian town outside of the city known for its vineyards.

We come here one night during training, without the kids and then we come back later in the week when the kids are with us. Both are VERY different experiences.